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Employment Law

Beware minimum wage, OT violations–you could owe double damages, and more

04/27/2012
Here’s an incentive to make sure you pay employees properly: Failing to pay minimum wage or overtime may mean a lawsuit that goes back three years. Plus, winning employees receive twice what they were owed—and their attorneys collects legal fees commensurate with their time and effort.

EEOC lawsuit shows ADA mental disability peril

04/27/2012
Golden Living Center, a nursing home in Dartmouth, faces an EEOC disability discrimination lawsuit in a case that highlights the difficulty of dealing with mental disabilities under the ADA.

Beat bias suits with good business reasons

04/27/2012
It’s critical to base every employment-related decision on sound business reasons. It’s the only way to protect against lawsuits from employees who blame discrimination for every problem at work.

States aim to bar employers from Facebook passwords

04/26/2012
Facebook says it’s seen “a distressing increase” in reports of employers seeking to gain access to employees’ profiles. Several states are taking action.

Transgender people are protected under job discrimination law, says EEOC

04/25/2012
In what transgender groups are labeling as an “historic” and “landmark” ruling, the EEOC said on April 20 that job discrimination against an employee or applicant based on the person’s gender identity is unlawful under the the federal job discrimination law …

Does USERRA require preferential treatment for veterans?

04/24/2012
For years, employers have struggled with how to re-­­­­­­­employ soldiers whose military duties have required them to be absent from work. The key question: Does the Uni­­formed Ser­­vices Employment and Re­­em­­ploy­­ment Rights Act (USERRA) make it mandatory to give rehiring preference to returning vets? Finally, courts have begun to bring clarity to the law.

Where can I find required posters?

04/24/2012
Q. We’ve received differing information on exactly what notices we’re legally supposed to post in our office. Where can I find a reliable listing?

How long before we should convert temp staff to employee status?

04/24/2012

Q. Is there a law (or advisable benchmark) regarding how long we can hire temporary staff before they must be either hired on a permanent basis or released?

Can FMLA leave cover routine tardiness?

04/24/2012
Q. Some of our employees routinely ask to use FMLA when they are five or 10 minutes late. It’s a scheduling nightmare and hurts morale. Does the FMLA cover employees who are consistently tardy?

After accident in company car, can we recover insurance deductible using payroll deductions?

04/24/2012

Q. We have a fleet of company cars. If an employee is at fault in an accident, is it legal for us to require reimbursement for the $500 deductible by reducing his pay over a period of three or four pay cycles?